Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

[Stu]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

I just see any Burnett deal (along with the Damon and Manny situations) being a long drawn out process which could cause the Red Sox to lose out on other key free agents.

[CWood2]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Combine the major positions we need to fill with GM included, the low level of talent on the market, and the low trade value of our tradeable players (Arroyo, Nixon, and Manny), I'm not really looking forward to the offseason. Even though Manny could get a good return, his contract and his relationship with management does not make for a good trade.

Does anyone else get that ugly feeling that we're going to fill this roster with less than desired talent to bridge the gap until all our major prospects are ready?? I could easily see the next 2 years being pretty different to get to Hanley, Lester, Sanchez and the rest of the gang to join Pedroia and Papelbon.

Cwood's action plan:
Here's what I want to see to get rid of this ominous feeling. Trade for Brad Wilkerson and let Damon get his big money elsewhere. I want him as our CF, and when Ellsbury is ready in a few years, he can play a gold glove first. Plus he's very expendable with all the OFs in Washington and his OBP makes for a perfect 1 or 2 hitter. See what the asking price is for Troy Glaus, there just aren't enough power hitters on the corners anymore and he could hit bombs in Fenway. Arizona would love to unload a contract like that. Next, look at some young first basemen. Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard, maybe even one of Florida's bats in Willingham or Stokes...these guys should be available for a prospect like Shoppach and another good prospect outside of our core untouchables (probably more for Howard). As for the bullpen, get Timlin back, tell BJ Ryan the Yankees called out his mother, and see how Foulke feels about the 7th and 8th inning. As for another starter, I'd rather invest in a Glaus or Konerko than AJB...if we could find this years Jorge Sosa (traded to the Braves for Nick Green!!), I wouldn't mind the gamble since things will depend on Schilling more than we want anyway. AJB could be this years Pavano. I know it doesn't make us invincible for 2006, but we didn't come this far with the farm system to panic because of some big holes on the roster. Lastly, realize trading Manny does NOT mean financial flexibility. If management can't live with him and Manny feels the same, than maybe we have no choice. But very few people produce like Man-Ram, and Ortiz needs protection. Unless we get 2 fantastic prospects and acquire Glaus or sign Konerko with the money saved, just say no to unloading Manny. Of course, the prereq is signing Theo. There are some options out there for the 2006 team, but we may have to look harder to avoid making mistakes with contracts and finding those undervalued players like a Catalanotto or a Freel if things fall through. Just figured I'd play GM since we currently don't have one.

[Misfit]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Am I the only one who thinks no team other than the White Sox have a shot at Konerko? Unless someone offers him a ludicrous deal, I think he's back in Chicago next year.

I don't think the Yankees will be interested in Burnett, but they'll feign interest if the Red Sox pursue him just to drive up his price. The only way the Sox get him is if he wants to be on the Red Sox. I doubt the Sox would want to give him much more than 8 million a year.

I would think a guy like Ryan Howard would be untouchable, as are most young first basemen unless the Sox want to give up a top prospect. The tough thing about letting Damon go is who do we replace him with? Not so much in the field, but at the top of the order. Renteria wouldn't make for a good lead-off man and I'm not sure if we could expect it of Pedroia. Idealy, the only new position player for the Sox next year would be Pedroia with their everday lineup looking this:

Damon
Renteria
Ortiz
Ramirez
Nixon
Varitek
Youkilis
Mueller
Pedroia

If they can find a power bat to stick in their in place of someone else then I think they do it, though I don't really see the Red Sox being interested in Glaus.

[geigerm]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

I don't really think Konerko's leaving Chicago, no, and if he does, his stated preference is to go west. I don't know that anyone outside of L.A.--Angels or Dodgers--would shell out what he wants. So I think he ends up in Chicago, but if somebody wants to throw a lot of money at him, who knows?

The Sox aren't bringing in a young 1B without giving away too much, and I don't really see that Shoppach brings a whole lot in a trade. He didn't impress anyone with the few ABs he had at the major league level last year. We'll likely be left watching another team with no corner infield power, which is why trading Manny shouldn't happen.

I'll be interested to see what, if anything, they can get in a trade for Wells, but it wouldn't surprise me if that falls through as well and they're left with a slightly older version of this year's team ... for the most part. The one major overhaul we'll absolutely see will be the bullpen; I think we'll see Delcarmen, Hansen, and probably other prospects (DiNardo? Lester?) getting a lot of innings out there this year. Might grab a veteran arm or two to be situational guys (a la Mike Myers), but I think they'll put a lot of the bullpen duty in the hands of the youngsters. Depending on what happens with Damon, we might need a CF, but I gotta agree with CWood--this next year is looking like a "let's see what we can throw together until the prospects are ready" kind of year. Of course, you just know they'll pull off something completely unexpected to fill one of those major roster holes--after all, who saw Schilling coming to Boston 2 years ago?

[Stu]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Well with 5 days to go before Theo's contract expires he rejected a $1.2 mil offer from the Red Sox. This makes it clear that the chief issue in these negotiations is who Theo is reporting to.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/10/26/epstein_rejects_upgraded_offer_from_sox/

[geigerm]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Ugh ... this is not good. I wonder if Henry's going to step in and help get something done, or just let Lucchino completely screw this up ...

[Stu]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Ugh ... this is not good. I wonder if Henry's going to step in and help get something done, or just let Lucchino completely screw this up ...

I always thought Lucchino's act was simply classic good cop/bad cop, but he might just be a complete jackass. I understand he is CEO, but why can't he just let their baseball people handle the baseball decisions. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

[geigerm]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

I always thought Lucchino's act was simply classic good cop/bad cop, but he might just be a complete jackass. I understand he is CEO, but why can't he just let their baseball people handle the baseball decisions. Hopefully cooler heads will prevail.

I tend to lean toward the "jackass" side of things, but I'm not completely sure. I know that when this ownership group took over, there was a lot of talk about how respected Lucchino was throughout baseball for his previous work in San Diego (I think). So he might actually know what he's doing, but failing to give up some control and causing Theo to leave would be a massively stupid mistake.

[CWood2]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

I met the guy at a small business breakfast and he's very, very intelligent. He understands the core of a great baseball park experience and can really drive revenue by making things fan friendly. He even brought memorabilia for the Q&A session which was pretty cool. BUT... his success in that area should not translate into influence with player and personnel decisions. Sure he's had success in what he does, but much like his counterparts, they're all about the fans because we sell out the park every home game and actually pay money to join a made up Nation....please tell me none of my OS counterparts have that stupid card in their wallet!!

Anyway, once you've heard a guy's negotiating skills have driven people away time and time again, I think it's probably more true than false only because his reputation proceeds him. If we don't solve his role problem, it might not matter if we get Theo back if Larry and Co. try to handcuff their GM by pulling rank. Revamping the farm system from laughable status was more important than putting ads on the monster...

[Beantown]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Theo better come back.

He turned down an offer today...blah.

[Stu]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

please tell me none of my OS counterparts have that stupid card in their wallet!!

I got it, but don't carry the stupid card. By joining you got first crack to buy some tickets before the season started. You also got MLB Audio as part of it, even though the cost of the membership was less than the cost of MLB Audio. This was the main reason I got it.

[CWood2]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

I got it, but don't carry the stupid card. By joining you got first crack to buy some tickets before the season started. You also got MLB Audio as part of it, even though the cost of the membership was less than the cost of MLB Audio. This was the main reason I got it.

Noooo, not you cam!!!

Haha, kidding...sounds like it worked out pretty good. You gotta admit though, that commercial is hilarious with representatives from every major country...and Johnny Damon.

[Stu]

Re: Official Boston Red Sox 2005 Thread

Looks like Theo's decision is coming today.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/10/27/decision_is_expected_today_as_epstein_mulls_offer/